Finger cot



Jan. 13, 1948.

G. L. GROSS FINGER COT Filed July 24, 1946 Mum T m W Patented Jan. 13, `1948 FINGER oo'r George L. Gross, Hartford, Conn. application July 24, 1946, serial No. 685,971.

2 Claims.

This invention relates to finger cots or stalls and the method of making the same.

An object of the invention is to provide a tubular sheath of a novel construction and of a suitable material which serves as a protective guard on the fingers of the hand.

A further object of the invention is to provide a linger cot of novel construction which affords protection to the fingers of the operator of buing and grinding wheels or the like.

Another object of the invention is to provide a seamless nger cot or stall which is substantially non-fraying in character and which gives protection to the operator of various types of machines.

A still further object is to provide a method of making finger cots having smooth and seamless surfaces exposed to machine shop tools and machines.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a section of knitted tubing before being converted to a finger cot;

Figure 2 is a perspective View, partly in section, of the apparatus used to make the nger cot embodying the present invention; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a finished nnger cot embodying the present invention.

The present invention is concerned with the protection of the lingers and hands of Workers engaged in bufling, polishing, grinding, sanding, burring, soldering, cable forming, armature winding, blanking, stamping, operating punch presses, and handling rough sharp articles. Machines having rapidly revolving wheels present serious accident hazards to the fingers and hands which hold tools or objects to be Worked, bufed or polished adjacent said wheels. It has been found that the wearing of a protective glove encompassing all the lingers of the hand subjects the operator of a buing wheel, for example, to the hazards of having the whole hand and arm injured when one small part of the glove becomes frayed. A frayed edge or loose strand of thread is readily caught by the periphery of the bufling wheel and practically instantaneously pulls the gloved hand toward the rapidly revolving Wheel, thereby causing serious accidents.

This hazard has been obviated to some limited extent in the past by replacing the integral glove with several separate stalls or cots that are placed upon each linger. Unfortunately, however, these finger cots have had a selvage or binding of cotton thread or the like which when rubbed by the buiiing wheel broke and raveled thus exposing the coarse edge of the material of the cot and causing it to fray and spread out. Both the loose broken thread of the selvage and the resultant frayed end of the Cot presented a serious accident hazard to the operator. Since the selvaging was the weakest part of the cot it quickly broke and the rapid wearing and fraying of the cot material was accelerated, thus requiring frequent and expensive replacements.

I have discovered that the danger of broken selvage and resultant fraying can be obviated by my novel invention which eliminates the selvage from the operating end of the finger cot which is nearest the bufng wheel and which is subject to greatest wear. I provide a new finger cot of a novel double ply structure which presents a smooth and seamless knitted end and side surfaces to the'bufng wheel, This novel construction substantially eliminates the accidents which have occurred to operators of bufng wheels and the like using the conventional finger cots. The improved method of the present invention also facilitates the manufacture of finger cots having smooth and seamless surfaces and ends exposed to the rapidly revolving buing and grinding Wheels and machine parts.

Referring now to the drawing, Figure 1 shows a seamless open-ended tube I I which is preferably tightly knitted'o-f selected hard twisted cotton yarn. Being made of knitted material tube II is elastic and self-conforming.

Figure 2, partly broken away for the purpose of clarity, shows the preferred method I employ in converting the flexible knitted fabric tube into a finger cot embodying the present invention. The tube II is drawn about half of its length over metal cylinder 2| fixed rmly on base 22. The remaining part of the knitted tube II is then pushed into the interior of said cylinder in such a manner that said tube is stretched for half its length 25 outside the cylinder while the other half 26 is inside the cylinder. The folded tube I I is then removed from the cylinder in such a manner that the two sections 25 and 26 of tube I I are maintained in the same retroverted position relative to each other. An alternative method of making the cot would be rst to insert the tube II half of its length '26 into the cylinder and retrovert or turn the remaining half 25 back over itself Iand over the outside of the cylinder.

Figure 3 shows a finished nger cot 3| embodying the present invention placed in position upon a finger 24 of the hand. As can be seen from the broken away section of Figure the linger cot is an open ended fabric body having two concentrically disposed tubular plies, the outer ply 35 being an integral extension of the inner ply 36. The said plies 35 and 36 are so arranged that one surface of the tubular fabric body is disposed on the outside of the inner ply and the inside of the outer ply, and the other surface of thetubular fabric body is disposed on the inside of the inner ply and the outside of the outer ply. This feature of construction makes possible the manufacture of a tubular fabric body having seamlessy continuity from the inside surface to the outside surface. The finger cot or stall is positioned upon the finger in such a manner that the seamless open end 33 is nearest the nger` tip-131i.` The other open end of the cot whichorig'inally'star'ted l as the open ends of tube l l in Figure 1 is provided with stitching 32. I have found that in practice the parts 'of the finger cots that are exposed to the hazards of vbuiiing wheels and the like are the ends at vthe finger tips and sides. The stitched end 32 of the finger cot at the crotch apex between the fingers is rarely touched bythe buiiing wheel. .Y

Being seamless both on the operative end and on the sides, the fingers cots or stalls of my-invention have a greatly longer life than cots used heretofore because there are no seams or selvages which are liable to be caught, frayed, broken or gripped by rapidly rotatinggbung 'or grinding wheels and the like. The improved structure of my linger `cots also provides vastly greater protection to Shop workers and has practically eliminated accident hazards which have been due in the past to faultily constructed and poorly designed iinger protective devices. l In the finger cots of lthe present -invention the seamless twoply construction provides for self-conforming iiexibility and non-spreading open ends which prevents the operative part near the finger-tip fromV spreading out even after nconsiderable wear. Conventional finger cots with seamed or selvaged ends and sides have spread substantially with a small amount of wear andhave not only interfered with line buing and shop work operations but also have caused numerous accidents. On the other hand, my present finger cots of double-ply seamlessconstruction have greatly increased production and shop eiiiciency wherever used and because of their superioritylhave increased workers confidence on approaching hazardous buing and machine shop jobs.

Although Figure 3 shows only one finger cot placed upon a finger of the hand for purposes of clarity of illustration, it is to be understood that linger cots may also be placed upon all the fingers and thumb of either hand or both depending upon the particular buing or machine shop operation that lis being performed.v The present linger cots may; be' fabricated and constructed in various lengths andv diameters to conform to the sizes of thumbs and lingers. While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described aS Comprising a fabric of hard twisted cotton yarn, it is intended that any suitable fabric may be used suchas wool, nylon, hemp, linen and the like. Y i

Whi1e the present invention, as to its objects and advantages, has been described herein as carried out in specic embodiments thereof, it is not desired to be limited thereby but it is intended to cover the, invention broadly within the spirit and scope of 4the, appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An open ended tubular nger cot having a seamless double ply vopen end and double ply seamless sides, said double ply open end being characterized by resistance to fraying and raveling when rubbed and abraded in grinding, buing and polishing operations.

2. A finger cot produced from a seamless open ended fabric tube'which is turned back upon itself to provide a protective covering having a seamless and unselvaged double ply open end seamless double ply sides, said double ply open end being characterized by resistance to fraying and raveling when rubbed and abraded in grinding, bufng and polishing operations.

GEORGE L. GROSS.

REFERENES CITED The following references are of record ln the le of thislpatent:

UNrrED STATES PATENTS 2,230,067 Pedlow Jan. 28, A1941 

